Water shops warned to not use municipal water for #DayZero cash-in

Water shops in and around Cape Town have been warned to not use municipal water as a way to cash in on the panic over Day Zero.

With Day Zero 72 days away as of Monday, panic has already begun to set in amongst Cape Town residents. Shops have been sold out of all types of five-litre water bottles and when more stock does arrive, there is a frantic scrum as shoppers load their trolleys to the brim. Now, the City of Cape Town has issued a warning to shops that are selling standard tap water as a way to profit off of Day Zero.

There have been numerous reports of shops around Cape Town selling bottled filtered municipal water without a license.

Richard Bosman, executive director of safety and security said at a weekend briefing that these shops will now be targeted by the city.

“Either you stop this or we going to have to cut the water flow to the facility to a much lower level and the rest of your shops in the entire centre is going to suffer.”

“You can only sell municipal water if you have got a licence from the city,” he said.

With the majority of these shops being in centres or malls, the stores are not metered individually making it difficult to track the illegal water sellers.

In less than a week, new water restrictions will come into effect requiring residents to reduce their daily per person usage from 80 to 50 litres.

City officials have called on residents to save now or end up queuing for water when the taps get switched off for Day Zero. Tourists too have been urged to “save like a local”.

“We can’t crash this economy, even in the circumstances of Day Zero. So it’s very important that we keep going and that we find ways, more and more efficient ways, to use water in every industry.”

So while the City says “let the tourists come”, will they want to come on a holiday where they have to bathe with a damp cloth?